South Korea – Page 41

February 14, 2006

Ban Makes U.N. Candidacy Official

Ban Ki-Moon, South Korea’s Foreign Minister, chief promoter of appeasement of the North, and occasional provider of adult supervision to Roh Moo-Hyun’s government, is making official what has been known for months: he wants to be U.N. Secretary General. He would succeed Kofi Annan, who presided over the Oil-for-Food scandal, a procurement scandal, sexual abuse scandals, and several partially successful genocides without being driven out of office in shame (as if). Expect the Bush Administration to work quietly, behind the...

An Alliance?/Appeasement/Asia/Geopolitics/Human Rights/Korean Politics/Uncategorized

February 13, 2006

‘He Doth Protest Too Much’

Would a statement like this have been uttered by a Korean diplomat ten years ago? Responding to a question about giving greater “strategic flexibility” to the U.S. Forces Korea, Kim said, “Even though I am an ambassador to China, I would say that it is certain that Korea and the U.S. are allies, and as such the bilateral relationship is far stronger than other relationships, which allows us to agree on strategic flexibility. He said China has not so far...

An Alliance?/China & Korea/Uncategorized

February 12, 2006

$140,000 in N. Korean ‘Supernotes’ Found in Namdaemun

So South Korea really isn’t sure North Korea is counterfeiting our currency? Have a look at this: The South Korean government concealed the fact that U.S. investigators told it US$140,000 in counterfeit dollars found in Seoul’s Namdaemun market last April was made in North Korea, it emerged Sunday. Police at the time arrested three people who tried to exchange 1,400 so-called supernotes at a local money changer. They allegedly bought the supernotes from a broker in Shenyang, China. How do...

An Alliance?/Appeasement/Counterfeiting/Uncategorized

February 11, 2006

Hines Ward’s Korean Mother: ‘People Spat at Us’

The great “who is Korean?” conversation goes on. If South Korea doesn’t change the rules, after all, it didn’t win the Superbowl. Today, the Chosun Ilbo interviews half-Korean Johnny Westover, who did not win the Superbowl, but who has been active in fighting for the rights of mixed-race Koreans: Active in a group of mixed-race Koreans, he told a meeting Friday he has never seen a half-Korean become a general in the army, or for that matter reach any position...

Human Rights/Korean Society

February 1, 2006

Kim Dae-jung tinkers in DPRK policy again

I have to admit that in 1998 I thought the Sunshine Policy sounded good ““ a new approach to an old problem that might yield unexpected results. The three main tenants of the policy were:

Anti-Americanism/Appeasement

December 1, 2005

How North Korea tried to subvert the ROK democracy movement

(By guest blogger, Andy Jackson) This is the second in a four-part series on lectures concerning human rights in North Korea delivered at Sogang University in Seoul on November 26, 2005. The text in block quotes were taken from my notes of the translation of the lecture. Any inaccuracies in the text are strictly my own. As I mentioned at the end of my previous post, Kang Chol-hwan cut his lecture short and gave about a third of his allotted...

The Fifth Column

September 15, 2005

Common Genes? Why Radical Korean Views on Race May Remind You of You-Know-Who

I meant to take note of The Marmot’s translation of North Korea’s latest blast of Herrenvolk rhetoric: It claimed USFK influence over the last 60 years eroded the unique speech, writing, dress, food culture and lifestyle of the Korean people. “U.S. soldiers indulge in bestial sexual assaults against South Korean women, and have polluted the bloodlines of our race, which remained unbroken for 5,000 years, and sullied the purity of the race,” it said. This is useful context for its...

Korean Politics/Korean Society

August 7, 2005

Signs of the Times: So This Is Why I Spent Four Years in Korea

Above: 1950. A Marine plays taps over the graves of just a few of the 33,629 Americans killed in action in Korea. Below: August 2005. South Korean demonstrators show their appreciation for their prosperity and freedom of speech by standing at the entrance to a soccer match holding signs that say, “American soldiers not admitted.” The U.S. team was not playing. Isolated incident? No. Barring American soldiers from Korean businesses is quite common, as I can attest from personal experience,...

An Alliance?/Anti-Americanism/Racism

June 22, 2005

PROPAGANDA SITE OF THE WEEK: AXIS TO GRIND

From the statement page of the Axis to Grind website: Axis to Grind exposes the clash of cultures of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and North America… our status quo misrepresentation of north Korea actually stands as an obstacle to peace and reunification for the Korean peninsula… My first rapid unlearning of my attitudes about north Korea came when I visited there for 6 weeks as part of an International March for Peace & Reunification of the Korea,...

Anti-Americanism/Media Criticism

June 21, 2005

THE UNFORTUNATE RESULT OF THE SUNSHINE POLICY

Since its inception with former President Kim Dae-jung, the Sunshine Policy has evolved to complicate U.S. Policy efforts in North Korea, but also to hurt the North Korean people. At first the unprecedented policy was acclaimed on all sides, since it had never actually been tried, and resulted in the historic June 2000 summit (which earned Kim Dae-jung his Nobel Peace Prize). But long after its uselessness has been demonstrated, South Korean politicians still pursue the Sunshine Policy, doing anything...

An Alliance?/Anti-Americanism/Korean Politics

May 31, 2005

ANTI-AMERICAN PROTEST AT YONGSAN POST & US EMBASSY, 29 MAY

Following the anti-North Korean rally on Friday, where the older generation called for a stronger ROK-U.S. alliance, South Korean students protested the presence of the U.S. military on the peninsula: Thousands of South Korean students rallying Sunday against the U.S. military’s five-decade presence clashed with police after trying to enter the American base, and at least 12 people were injured and more than 20 were arrested. Demonstrators marched through Seoul before attempting to enter the main Yongsan U.S. military base...

Anti-Americanism